“I consider myself an innovator —a think outside the box entrepreneur, whose talent is putting together the right partnerships, coming up with creative strategies, and pioneering unique concepts for maximum results,” declared Maurice Singleton III. A seasoned executive with experience in strategic planning and implementation over a 30-year career in media and entertainment, Singleton knows something about trends.

So, the trend towards the consumption of so-called energy drinks got his attention a few years ago, but that was as far as it went….hmmm…energy drinks.

As fate would have it, Singleton happened upon the news that the U.S. Senate had held hearings on the hazards of energy drink ingredients. “It was an under-reported story,” he recalled. He learned that thousands of consumers seek emergency medical treatment each year because of chemically-based ingredients in energy drinks. Then the FDA mandated that product ingredients should be more clearly listed and readily available for consumer review.

“I was shocked when no one took any actions or made any changes at that time,” he said. “So, I decided that I was going to create consumer brands that could help build healthier communities. With year over year growth in the organic/health focused food and beverage industry, the time is right to use my training and disrupt the natural consumer goods market.”

Lessons Learned Products Created

The result is Amazing Fruit Shots™ (AFS), a ready-to-drink compact beverage made with 100 percent fruits and vegetables and other natural ingredients. The drinks offer a way to rapidly consume the goodness of fruits and vegetables the body needs each day. The small three ounce. bottle delivers three full servings of vegetables, two full servings of fruit, and five grams of dietary fiber.

In this fast-paced, fast food world, Amazing Fruit Shots™ provides a natural ready to drink choice, not only for stamina but also endurance and the preservation for healthy living. Our body’s vitality has been universally supported by nature from the moment we were born, for centuries the body’s well-being has been nurtured by the land. During the last half century, things like french fries, fried burgers along with caffeine and sugar laden soda have become the staples of the American meal. Now with the high rate of diabetes and high blood pressure in our communities, young consumers, who are now caring for their older relatives are making more conscious consumption choices and Amazing Fruit Shots will give them another choice.

Amazing Fruit Shots™ will be available for purchase online in the United States by late December, 2016, and in stores by late February, 2017. But there’s more to the story.

Going Global: Exporting to the People’s Republic Of China

In February, 2015, the U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, US & Foreign Commercial Service, and Harlem US Export Assistance Center invited American natural and/or organic food and beverage companies to meet with its joint agreement partner, Global Trade & Technology Company (GTTC). Singleton’s company was one of the companies GTTC invited to meet Chinese State Owned Enterprise companies at a gathering in Harlem.

“From the outset I was interested,” stated Singleton III, CEO of Amazing Fruit Shots and TamTamBora Smoothies, a product already available in the U.S.

“I had no knowledge about international selling, so I began learning via hands-on instructions with GTTCs president and chairman trying to grasp the initiative in what I would describe as a bell curve education. As soon as I slightly understood the matrix, our firm was one of the first minority-owned companies that presented products for export. We sent senior executives to China with GTTC on a trade mission in November 2015.